ANTELOPES 301 



up it is only possible to follow their movements by the waving 

 of the grass. It is necessary, however, always to be prepared 

 for a snap-shot, as after going some twenty to thirty yards they 

 will bound up into the air, offering a capital chance, which may 

 be the only one, as they will be out of range before they again 

 appear in a like manner. This bounding into the air is, I 

 believe, to enable them to see where they are going to, and 

 it is a curious fact that when they alight they invariably do so 

 on their hind legs, not unlike a kangaroo. 



An oribi, even when only slightly wounded, will, as a rule, 

 go a very short distance before lying down, and the sportsman 

 should, therefore, be careful to follow up all those that he thinks 

 he may have touched. 



STEINBUCK 



The Steinbuck (Swahili name, ' Ishah ') is better known to 

 some sportsmen as the 'grass antelope.' It is more plentiful 

 at Kilimanjaro than elsewhere, though I have seen a good 

 many all along the caravan route, wherever it passes through 

 open grass country, between Mombasa and Nzoi in Ukambani. 

 This little antelope is the smallest found in the open plain. It is 

 a stupid little beast, and requires very little stalking to outwit it. 

 It will often stand gazing at anyone who approaches, and allow 

 him to walk up to within 100 yards of it. I once witnessed a 

 most interesting sight in which one of these little bucks played 

 an important part. It was being hunted by two cheetahs 

 (hunting leopards). This occurred on the low hills west of 

 Machako's. As I was walking along the side of a steep hill, I 

 saw four cheetahs cross a dry watercourse at the bottom and 

 ascend half-way up the side of the opposite hill, when they lay 

 down and began gambolling like kittens. About half-way 

 between the top of the hill and the cheetahs was a pile of huge 

 rocky boulders, and thinking that they would in all probability 

 make for these, and lie up in the shade of them during the heat 

 of the day, I hurried round, making a wide circuit, to the back 

 of the hill. On looking down from the top I had the satis- 



